During a 1945 trip to Boblo Island Amusement Park in Bois Blanc Island, Ontario, Sarah Elizabeth Ray was denied entry onto the boat that sailed along the Detroit River solely because she was African American.
The state of Michigan brought a racial discrimination case against the ferry service operators and won. The Bob-Lo Excursion Co. then filed a suit against the state, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Michigan’s favor in 1948.
Desiree Cooper, a veteran Detroit journalist, believes that Ray’s induction into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame this month is significant because she was a Black woman pushing back against injustice.
“The big reason why we nominated her was people in Detroit hold Boblo so dear and it is such a part of summer nostalgia for everyone in the city, and it is amazing that some people have no idea, or don’t remember, once it was segregated. It took the courage of one woman, only 24 years old, to stand up for her rights,” said Cooper, who helped nominate Ray.
Michigan Women Forward announced in August that Ray and five other Michigan women will be inducted into the Michigan’s Women’s Hall of Fame (MWF) on Tuesday during a virtual ceremony.
The contemporary inductees include Rosalind Brewer, chief executive officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance; Diana Sieger, president of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation; and Debra White-Hunt, co-founder and artistic director of Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy.
In the historical category, the Hall of Fame is recognizing Lila Neuenfelt, the first female circuit court judge in Michigan; Fannie Peck, founder of Fannie B. Peck Credit Union and Detroit Housewives League; and Ray, who later founded Action House, a Detroit community center designed to provide assistance to Black children.
“These remarkable women represent leadership, courage, tenacity and strength,” said Carolyn Cassin, Michigan Women Forward president and CEO. “They are all a testament to the limitless potential of Michigan girls and women, and they deserve to be celebrated.”
Brewer spoke at the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce Mackinac Policy Conference in September and said “diversity of thought” is an imperative for hiring today.
“Lay race and gender diversity on top of that, then every time, the thought process in the room is richer,” said Brewer, who is African American and a Detroit native.
The six women will join 333 other Hall of Fame inductees who have been named since MWF’s inception 38 years ago. Other members include abolitionist Sojourner Truth, former Michigan Lt. Gov. Martha Griffiths and former first lady Betty Ford.
Marsha Philpot, a Detroit historian, pointed out that Peck’s induction is meaningful because of the challenges that Blacks faced in a racially segregated Detroit during the 1930s and ‘40s.
“As [African Americans] were continually pushing back against the bowels of segregation in this city, and demanding equality in treatment and in services and for spatial equity, she and others were advocating for Black businesses,” said Philpot.
authored by Ken Coleman
First published at https%3A%2F%2Fmichiganadvance.com%2F2021%2F10%2F22%2Fmichigan-womens-hall-of-fame-honors-action-house-founder-walgreens-ceo%2F
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